Written by Caleb Shaw
Can’t decide whether an acrylic or rubber based adhesive for tape is right for you? In this short blog, I’m going to outline the basic features of both.
Tack
Rubber based adhesives have a higher initial tack than acrylic. So for applications on rough textured materials (or where high grab is required), rubber could be the better option.
With acrylic, the adhesion builds over time. Typically, this is 50% at 20 minutes, 80% at 24 hours and 100% at 72 hours.
Cost
Rubber adhesives are a lower cost option, making it an ideal choice for temporary internal applications, however, Rubber based adhesive offer poor resistance to chemicals, UV and temperature compared to acrylic based adhesives.
Durability
Acrylic adhesives have a far greater resistance to chemicals, UV, moisture and temperature changes therefore for long term projects – Acrylic adhesive based tapes are the optimum choice.
Use
Due to the cost and initial tack, rubber adhesive-based tapes tend to be used on duct tapes, masking tapes, parcel tapes etc.
Acrylic on the other hand, is most popularly used for permanent applications such as construction, signage, solar applications and in automotive industries.
